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From The Tombstone Tourist - Musicians (first edition):At the end of October the band took a rare break from touring and recording, and returned to Macon, Georgia. After stopping by the band’s “Big House” to offer birthday wishes to Berry’s wife, Duane took off on his motorcycle. As Duane traveled west on Hillcrest, a pipe truck driven by Charles Wertz entered the intersection of Hillcrest and Bartlett. To avoid a collision, Duane laid his bike down and skidded 90 feet across the intersection’s center line. Hearing the crash, Wertz walked over to the unconscious rider and turned off the still racing engine of the motorcycle. The impact tore the helmet from his head and caused severe liver, chest, and head injuries. Although revived twice, Howard Duane Allman died three hours later, in what is now Middle Georgia Hospital, one month shy of his twenty-fifth birthday.

The following Monday over 300 people attended services in Macon’s Memorial Chapel. With Duane’s guitar case placed in front of the flower-adorned casket, the band took their places, and Gregg sang out the old blues classic The Sky is Crying. Making it clear that the band’s tribute lay in the music, they continued with Stormy Monday, In Memory of Elizabeth Reed, and Statesboro Blues.

The ABB immediately went back on the road, later adding Chuck Leavell on keyboards. Berry also began pulling out of the grief which enveloped him following Duane’s death. Taking an active role in the recording of the Brothers and Sisters album, Barry was becoming the unofficial leader and visionary of the band. Creatively, the band was at their peak.

On a Saturday afternoon, almost one year later to the day and three blocks from Duane’s accident, Berry failed to make the curve on Napier Avenue near Inverness Street, striking the left side of a city bus. Bleeding and visibly shaken, he refused medical treatment. An hour later friends carried him back to the same hospital. He died moments later of head injuries and internal bleeding.

Due to legal and financial disputes, Duane’s remains were still in cold storage, awaiting final instructions from family members. It wasn’t until after Berry’s death that they were buried side-by-side, with matching tombstones, in the Civil War section of an historic Macon cemetery. With a guitar etched in marble, Duane Allman’s tomb reads:

Duane Allman

Nov. 20, 1946

Oct. 29, 1971

I love being alive and I will be the best man

I possibly can. I will take love wherever

I find it and offer it to everyone who will

take it...seek knowledge from those wiser

and teach those who wish to learn from me.

Buried on the right with a matching bass etched into the stone, Berry Oakley’s monument reads:

These guys were the greatest. Their mom's house was directly behind my grandmothers house. We use to sit outside in the summer and listen to them play. For years it was thought that Duane hit a truck carrying peaches, which the Album "Eat A Peach" came from.

Duane Allman and Berry Oakley

No conspiracies here, but still great musicians that "burned out instead of fading away" - wondering if there were any fans out there besides me. The Allman Brothers site Hittin the Note is good, but full of waaayyy too old groupies that really don't know much except that they were cute and rebelious - these were deep guys with deep wells of talent, anyone agree? I am particularly transfixed with the fact that they both died on motorcycles, within blocks of each other in the same city less than 2 years apart..... live on Sweet Melissa....., walking the paths of Rose Hill, A

Duane Allman and Berry Oakley

FYI: Duane Allman's only child is named Galadrielle from Lord of the Rings. I can listen to Live at Fillmore East for hours andhear things I never heard before. If you listen close enough (and loud enough) you can hear him addressing the audience - my favorite is: "here's an old Elmore James tune we'd like to play, called I Must've Did Somebody Wrong - I wonder who...." this was incidentally around the same time he remarked in a radio interview - "I got rid of my old lady, my kid - no old ladies, no kids - just guitars" (I never said he was a super sweet guy), just a genious, taken too soon, but aren't they all.....

I keep remembering things - the album "Eat a Peach" was named after a quote Duane gave in a radio interview shortly before his death - he was asked how he was helping the revolution he said: "there is no revolution, only evolution, so every time I am in Georgia the first thing I do is eat a peach for peace", Gregg always thought he was talking about the female variety - you know (to quote Ronnie VanZant) "I love those Georgia Peaches......"

Actually I've been there a couple of times. The Big House on Vineville houses 6000 sq ft of photos, posters, film footage, audio tapes, gold records, awards, clothing, and instruments. When I was there road manager Kirk West and his wife were still living there (they have since moved and now the whole house is the museum) and he was nice enough but his wife was a beo-tch.

And god don't get me started on the ABB society members who hang at the grave. Jesus they give you major stink eye as if you're not a member of their secret society when in fact they give unemployeed Deadheads a good name. But I digress.

Yes it is worth the trip down to Macon for TBH, the graves, and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. The museum is as good if not better than the Marley house in Kingston. Another good side trip is to Athens, GA home of the B52s, REM, and others. Great college town.

Seriously, I understand getting sick about certain factions of the ABB society - they care n.o.t.h.i.ng... about the music, the talent, the tragedy of losing brothers and friends - wanna really get sick - go here:

and if you will click on the pictures, at the bottom are posts and comments from freaks that are infatuated with Gregg and his.. uhhh, to put it nicely (and coming from a family with more than one brother over 50 that truely was a "hippie -stoner- rocker" that saw the Brothers more than once in concert) I can't say anything nice, and to borrow a quote - : " if you don't have anyting nice to say, come sit next to me".... all I can say is eeewwww, Gregg would only laugh and I don't even want to know how amused Duane would be.... just look and you will see what I mean... I cannot say anymore without being unnecessarily mean, which is not the way I was raised - to love real southern rock and roll and to bask in the peace it brings me - ahhh the simplicity of it all

Skydog: by Randy Poe with forward by Billy Gibbons (yes, that Billy Gibbons)

Midnight Riders: The Story of the Allman Brothers Band, By Scott Freeman

The Wanee Festival and Bonnaroo

Neither of the latter are hard to find and you can find tickets at www.hittintheweb.com to the Beacon Theater concerts of the ABB most of the time featuring Gregg, Dickey, Butch and Jai, not to mention Warren Hayes of Gov't Mule, Derek Trucks (the reincarnation of DA, in my opinion, and the nephew of Butch Trucks) and Derek's wife Susan Tedeschi, if you are ever going to spend money on any concert and trust me, you could travel 300 miles, and gas and expenses plus the tickets wouldn't cost you as much as 2 tickets to a modernized version of a Rolling Stones "show" these days - it would be the best money you would spend all year. I know this thread is suppossed to be about dead musicians, but I think it is a tribute to Duane and Berry that there be many a pilgrimage to see what they "hath borne to us": a siliquoy to Southern Rock in it's most pure form...

I know what you are thinking and I understand, I thought the same thing - which is why I checked it out when Dickey was ousted. Yes, Betts was fired, and there is alot to be said about what a butthead Gregg Allman can be - but he does appear with them occasionally and only at the festivals I mentioned and at an Atlanta's Peidmont Park gig that also featured The Dave Matthews Band. I try hard not to repeat things I have not made sure are true, and while I will admit I am wrong when I am, go to www.hittintheweb.com for verification of what I said from Gregg himself. When the band was just starting out and moved from Jacksonville to Macon at the behest of Phil Waldon (also RIP) whose Capricorn Records was headquartered there, they used to play free concerts in 1969 in the park to find an audience. While there may be disagreements, there is also a brotherhood that is sadly tied together by tragedy and death, a suspended animation type of thing - check it out, I think you will agree. I have met Warren Hayes and he is an all around pretty sound fellow and I don't think he would be doing what he is doing if he did not know and understand the situation. Dickey has no hard feelings and is still doing his thing the way he wants to. He is pretty hard headed too, so without Duane around to remind them that their "religion", their music, was about brotherhood and peace (ie: referee) it is only natural (and expected by all that know them) that Gregg and Dickey would eventually part ways.

I wish - next summer I am going to go to Macon, on my summer trip to the south - I wish I lived there - Oklahoma kind of sucks a little, I lived in Mt. Pleasant for a while and now go back for a month every summer. My best friend and I are going to go to Macon just for the heck of it - ever been to Mama Louise's in Macon?

Actually I've been there a couple of times. The Big House on Vineville houses 6000 sq ft of photos, posters, film footage, audio tapes, gold records, awards, clothing, and instruments. When I was there road manager Kirk West and his wife were still living there (they have since moved and now the whole house is the museum) and he was nice enough but his wife was a beo-tch.

And god don't get me started on the ABB society members who hang at the grave. Jesus they give you major stink eye as if you're not a member of their secret society when in fact they give unemployeed Deadheads a good name. But I digress.

Yes it is worth the trip down to Macon for TBH, the graves, and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. The museum is as good if not better than the Marley house in Kingston. Another good side trip is to Athens, GA home of the B52s, REM, and others. Great college town.

I wish (hence the name uwish yes, I can laugh at myself!!) I had seen all that already, I am not old enough - barely - to have seen all I wish I could have. My older brother has a weak heart and is from the SC area, he talks often of going to the hills of Macon and the Rose Hill area, where he was lucky enough to be raised and just slip away. While I know that sounds sad, death is what this group is about, right? I will be in the area this summer and will take your advice, and go to TBH and Athens.

I wish - next summer I am going to go to Macon, on my summer trip to the south - I wish I lived there - Oklahoma kind of sucks a little, I lived in Mt. Pleasant for a while and now go back for a month every summer. My best friend and I are going to go to Macon just for the heck of it - ever been to Mama Louise's in Macon?

Only about a dozen times!

If you have the money, stay at least one night upstairs in the main house of the 1842 Guest House - it is haunted! It is also right next door to the old ABB house that they first occupied.

And when I mean haunted, I mean your doors open, your faucets turn on by themselves, and your wallet and keys get moved. Scared me at first but I got used to it.

If you have the money, stay at least one night upstairs in the main house of the 1842 Guest House - it is haunted! It is also right next door to the old ABB house that they first occupied.

And when I mean haunted, I mean your doors open, your faucets turn on by themselves, and your wallet and keys get moved. Scared me at first but I got used to it.

Is that the house where Linda and Berry lived above Butch Trucks? Who do you think haunts it? I will definetly check it out, do you know if I can make reservations now, or if it is a drop in and get lucky kind of thing? They are also opening up the Lizzie Borden house as a Bed & Breakfast. You can stay in the room she "gave her father 40 whacks" in for extra $$ - I'm not sure about that one, might check it out though.

Is that the house where Linda and Berry lived above Butch Trucks? Who do you think haunts it? I will definetly check it out, do you know if I can make reservations now, or if it is a drop in and get lucky kind of thing? They are also opening up the Lizzie Borden house as a Bed & Breakfast. You can stay in the room she "gave her father 40 whacks" in for extra $$ - I'm not sure about that one, might check it out though.

This was the first house the whole band rehearsed and lived at.

The 1842 is not a drop in kind of place - it is very high end and you can walk down to Rose Hill Cemetery.

The 1842 is not a drop in kind of place - it is very high end and you can walk down to Rose Hill Cemetery.

I am there! That just sounds awesome - the guys from ABB I have met and talked to in the past, Gregg, Dickey (who, I agree with some people might be the Billy Cudrop character in Almost Famous) and Warren have always said they sense Duane and Berry in all they do and everywhere they go - this is a a very strong sense that Gregg, Dickey, Butch and Jai all say is with them every time they play an original ABB song or venue, and Warren insists he feels every time he copies DA's riffs and Derek just plain says he is passing on something above his own inate talent, because he thinks he can feel Duane passing through him, you should if you ever have the chance, talk to Derek, it is truly indescribable how he feels, perceives and puts forth his talent.

Duane Allman and Berry Oakley
No conspiracies here, but still great musicians that "burned out instead of fading away" - wondering if there were any fans out there besides me. The Allman Brothers site Hittin the Note is good, but full of waaayyy too old groupies that really don't know much except that they were cute and rebelious - these were deep guys with deep wells of talent, anyone agree? I am particularly transfixed with the fact that they both died on motorcycles, within blocks of each other in the same city less than 2 years apart..... live on Sweet Melissa....., walking the paths of Rose Hill,

This is not that far from me (Augusta, GA), and I happen to be going to Macon to our corporate office tomorrow so I think I'll nose around a little bit, maybe see if I can take some pics at the grave.

I had a friend tell me that taking pictures of a grave is morbid, but I snapped like hell when we were at Forest Lawn and Hollywood forever....I'm not sure why but I don't find it morbid or disrespectful....maybe I am just sick, which might be why I'm here??? Anyways, if I do get some shots, will share with anyone who's interested.

This is not that far from me (Augusta, GA), and I happen to be going to Macon to our corporate office tomorrow so I think I'll nose around a little bit, maybe see if I can take some pics at the grave.

I had a friend tell me that taking pictures of a grave is morbid, but I snapped like hell when we were at Forest Lawn and Hollywood forever....I'm not sure why but I don't find it morbid or disrespectful....maybe I am just sick, which might be why I'm here??? Anyways, if I do get some shots, will share with anyone who's interested.

Did you make it to Macon, if so did you get any pics, I would love to see them if you did.

Did you make it to Macon, if so did you get any pics, I would love to see them if you did.

I didn't make it down for that trip, but will be going again pretty soon...if you'll PM and REMIND ME so I don't forget, I'll be glad to let you (or anyone else who wants them--just PM me) know when I have pics!!

It's a cool place they are buried at. Macon sure had some great musical talent spring from there....

Please read Midnight Riders: The Story of The Allman Brothers Band by Scott Freeman, it mentions the island as a favorite getaway of the band and is also excelantly (i know- sp?) researched and quoted. I loved it and have read it more than once.

duane and eric were both somewhat put out by layla and assorted love songs languishing in the charts as they thought they had done real good.

Yeah, I remember it didn't do well in sales, but the song Layla still gets a lot of play on the classic rock stations around here, because it was a great tune. I did my part though, I bought the album and still have it! I even play it sometimes. What a shame Duane's talent ended so soon.

GR6-1890
I may look calm. But in my head, I've killed you three times.

They just reran the Intervention "Chuckie" on A&E the other night. Chuckie is the son of Chuck Negron and Julia Densmore (who were both addicted when he was born and thus, he was born heroin addicted). In between Densmore and Negron, Juila had Berry Oakley Jr. and he is a big participant in the episode. He looks just like his father.

Anyone know anything about Julia Densmore? There's not much out there.

They just reran the Intervention "Chuckie" on A&E the other night. Chuckie is the son of Chuck Negron and Julia Densmore (who were both addicted when he was born and thus, he was born heroin addicted). In between Densmore and Negron, Juila had Berry Oakley Jr. and he is a big participant in the episode. He looks just like his father.

Anyone know anything about Julia Densmore? There's not much out there.

I think it is Berry Oakley III, since BO was Jr. Julia Densmore is the ex-wife of The Doors John Densmore and also, while he was married to Cher, had an affair with Gregg Allman.

Scott: it is time to do a Duane/Berry post on the page. I would be interested to see your spin on the while thing. Also, with your super human like ability to track people down, somebody needs to find Dixie. She would have the most interesting perspective on the last few months of DA's life. You can contact Kirk and Kristen West at The Big House website and Randy Poe is the best. You can also contact him via www.allmanbrothers.com through the forum pages. I have his personal email address, but I am not sure I can give it out to the general public, I will give it to you though, as I am sure Randy would take all the help he can get squashing innuendo and rumors spread by people who "know", because they read the Enquirer. You can contact me if you are ever interested. Thanks.. uwish

She had an affair with G. Allman when he was married to Cher? Wasn't she also married to Chuck Negron at that time? Never heard about that, do you have any links? TIA

You are right, I was wrong, it is Berry Oakley Jr., not the 3rd. As far as the reference to the Gregg Allman/Julia Densmore affair, it is completely circumspect, taken from the book Midnight Riders by Scott Freeman. I have not seen this repeated anywhere else, by Randy Poe or Willie Perkins, which make me wonder. Looking back, I should not have repeated the quote, but it is referred to in evasive measure on page 207 of the above mentioned book. Anyone with a perspective on this, let me know. Thanks, Uwish

You are right, I was wrong, it is Berry Oakley Jr., not the 3rd. As far as the reference to the Gregg Allman/Julia Densmore affair, it is completely circumspect, taken from the book Midnight Riders by Scott Freeman. I have not seen this repeated anywhere else, by Randy Poe or Willie Perkins, which make me wonder. Looking back, I should not have repeated the quote, but it is referred to in evasive measure on page 207 of the above mentioned book. Anyone with a perspective on this, let me know. Thanks, Uwish